Water seal for refrigerators



(No Model.)

W 0 SHELDON WATER SEAL FOR REFRIGERATORS. No. 493,658.

Patented Mar. 21, 1893.

/ afiffariz/e z s A WW LUZ-37a e 8512- s NITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLARD O. SHELDON, OF GRAND HAVEN, MICHIGAN.

WATER SEAL FOR REFRIGERATORS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 493,658, dated March 21, 1893. Application filed December 15, 1892. Serial No. 455,274. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I,'WILLARD O. SHELDON, of Grand Haven,in the county of Ottawa and State of Michigan, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Devices for Sealing the Waste-Pipes of Refrigerators; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming apart of this specification, and to the letters of reference marked thereon.

This invention relates to devices for sealing the discharge openings or waste pipes of refrigerators and similar structures, to prevent the circulation of air therethrough, while permitting of the ready escape of liquid or water from the melting ice, and it has for its object to provide a simple and cheap device which while permanently attached to the body of the refrigerator, may, nevertheless, be itself readily cleaned and will permit the refrigerator to be cleaned by flowing water through the unobstructed waste pipe.

The invention consists primarily in asealing receptacle or cup permanently pivoted to the refrigerator body and held in either depressed or elevated position as desired by a spring, and adapted when in elevated position to surround the mouth of the waste pipe whereby it is immersed in the water in the cup and when lowered or depressed to move away from said pipe and to permit of the thorough cleansing of both pipe and cup.

Referring to the accompanying drawings: Figure 1 is a side elevation showing the device applied to a refrigerator bottom. Fig. 2 is a sectional view of the same shown open in dotted lines.

Like letters of reference indicate the same parts in both figures.

The particular character of refrigerator, of course has no bearing on the invention, and hence, I have shown only a small section of the bottom lettered A, with the usual escape opening or waste pipe B passing through the same and preferably depending a short distance below the same.

0 indicates the sealing cup which is normally adapted to receive the lower end of the waste pipe as shown, leaving a small space between the end of the pipe and bottom of the cup so as to permit the Water to fill the cup and flow away over its edge, thereby allowing the water to escape freely but effectually sealing the pipe against circulation of air. At one side, the cup is provided with a supporting arm D extending upward to prevent all possibility of the Water following along it, when escaping over the edge of the cup, and" at the end this arm is provided with a shoulderd formed by the angle of two substantially straight sides d, d.

The arm D works on a pivot 6 between depending lugs or ears E carried by a base plate F screwed firmly to the bottom of the refrigerator, and is thereby adapted to swing from one to the other of the positions shown in Fig. 2 to either seal the waste pipe or allow of the cup and pipe being cleaned without, however becoming detached.

With a sealing cup such as this,it is as desirable to hold it in lowered position as in raised position, to facilitate cleaning and to permit the pipe to stand open for flushing out the refrigerator, and to secure this desirable end, I mount a flat spring G on the base F in position to bear frictionally on the rear end of the arm and to co-operate with one or theother of the faces d (1 the shoulder (1 then serving to prevent the movement of the arm without bending the spring, which latter is made strong enough to hold the cup in either position against any pressure which might be brought against it in ordinary use, but not so strong as to prevent the cup being swung one way or the other by a positive pressure of the hand.

The device it will be seen from the foregoing description, consists of but four pieces including the pivot and is of extremely compact design. If desired it may be placed on any ordinary refrigerator in lieu of the cups now employed adapting it not only for use on refrigerators being manufactured, but also for any refrigerator now in use.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new is In a sealing device for refrigerator waste pipes, the combination with the cup having either elevated or depressed position; subthe laterally and upwardly extending arm stantially as described. with the substantially flat surfaces and shoulder d thereon, of the base having the lugsv WILLARD O. SHELDON. 5 between which the arm is pivoted and the Witnesses:

spring bearing 011 the fiat surfaces and c0- DWIGHT SHELDON,

operating with shoulder to hold the eup in W. O. SHELDON, Jr. 

